One of those truly impacting times when nature is seen in the raw…
We had just arrived at a nature observation tower to see the crow doing what its meant to do. It quickly rushed in to scavenge a set of swallow hatchlings that lay on the ground in a failed nest.
Not sure if the nest failed on its own, or if it had help from the crow. In either case, it was a profound experience.
At the time, I was too overwhelmed to actually photograph the nest and dead baby birds. For me, the image is still strong in memory, but it would have been better to get the photo and delete later, I suppose.

What a dramatic shot! Here we’re battling with pied crows decimating smaller, more vulnerable bird species. Afraid they not a favourite of mine, but they’re persistent and I guess at the top end of the pecking order for that reason.

It sounds like crows have their place and create their own kind of havoc in both of our ecosystems. Your comments are inspiring me to get a copy of a book that caught my attention several months ago at our local nature center. It’s called- Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies & Jays. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/97558.Bird_Brains
Perhaps it’s time to make the purchase and give it a read 🙂